The Launch Pad Blog

When someone finds out I’m an entrepreneur, full-stack developer, and have had 3 years of internship experience in UI/UX Design, Finance, and Operations as a freshman in college, they usually think I’m borderline insane. And quite honestly, it hasn’t been the easiest thing to do. I was intrigued by product packaging since my first internship at 16 as a UI/UX …

Read Length – 1 week Type of Audience – Beginner Rating – 4 stars Category – Idea stage (Ideation), Prototyping, Minimal Viable Product (MVP) Well written and direct, this book lays out how to plan and start a side hustle that won’t cost a lot of money but can provide a reliable income. This isn’t for those looking for inspiration …

Apps are expensive to build, update, and maintain. This means your app needs to be profitable to make it pay off. All businesses want to make money, and an app business is no different. The way your app makes money will depend on the type of app you have, and what the users are willing to spend on. There are …

Launching an app can seem like the biggest milestone in a companies lifespan. While it can be that, a lot of work before and after it goes live is needed. Just submitting an app to the app store is not launching it. Unfortunately, in the crowded state of the app stores, if you build it, the customer won’t just come. …

Testing your app can make the difference between a strong launch and establishing a good reputation or having your unlucky first customers unwittingly become your testers, and being expectedly unhappy about it. While it can seem like an exhaustive, time consuming process that just delays bringing in profits, a solid and well organized testing process won’t take excessively long and …

Choosing a developer or development company can be one of the most important decisions for the success of your company. A good developer can create an amazing product that exceeds expectations in the marketplace. A bad one can make a buggy, ugly app that angers customers, if anything is made at all. This is why it is important to thoroughly …

Starting development can seem like the big step when an app begins to become reality, but there are several important things to complete before reaching out to developers. These steps can vary slightly between different apps and businesses, but most of the ones included will be applicable to anyone with an app idea they want to turn into a fully …

When choosing a device to support many factors come into play. Competitors, bandwidth, life expectancy, and market research. Here are some things to consider when at this step of the process. There are many options in a world where much is going digital. Everything from phones, tablets, smart watches, tvs, and homes. Consider what devices your customers have, what they …

The Launch Pad at the University of Miami Announces the Conclusion of the 2018 ReVIve USVI Economic Impact Competition Miami, Florida, June 13, 2018. The University of Miami & The Prior Family Foundation are pleased to announce the conclusion of the inaugural ReVIve USVI Economic Impact Competition. Participants from all over the United States and its territories submitted ideas …

With excitement, we’d like to welcome the newest additions to The Launch Pad team, Director, Brian Breslin, and Assistant Director, Maria Derchi Russo! Brian is a native Miamian and has been an entrepreneur for practically his entire life. He is credited with founding Florida’s most significant tech and startup community, Refresh Miami, as well as a series of other tech …